Vacuactivus is the cryotherapy hardware brand whose two chambers bracket the whole-body cryo market we track: the fully electric Antarctica Barrel at $79,450 to $98,360 and the liquid-nitrogen CryoStar from $25,500, both verified 2026-08-14 through RecovAthlete, an authorized Vacuactivus dealer. Direct answer: for a home, family office, or clinic that wants a permanent whole-body chamber without running a nitrogen program, the Antarctica Barrel is the strongest live-priced electric chamber in our catalog. For the lowest entry price in the category, provided you are genuinely set up to handle liquid nitrogen, the CryoStar starts the whole-body chamber market at $25,500.
That answer has to be earned the honest way, so this deep dive is built only on what our verified catalog data supports: full configurations and prices for both chambers, the brand-stated specs and where they end, the numbers Vacuactivus does not publish that competitors do, and how both units sit against the Cryomed One Ultra studio cryosauna and the CryoBuilt Everest, the electric chamber we score highest in the category. There is no single winner here, only the right chamber for how you plan to run it.
Quick answer
- Home or family office that will not run nitrogen: the Vacuactivus Antarctica Barrel at $79,450 to $98,360, because compressor cooling removes every tank, refill, and venting obligation.
- Lowest entry price, nitrogen-ready: the Vacuactivus CryoStar from $25,500, because it is the least expensive whole-body chamber in our catalog and reaches a brand-stated -184F to -280F.
- Studio running back-to-back sessions: the Cryomed One Ultra from $35,199, because roughly 2.5 liters of nitrogen per three-minute session keeps high-volume running costs predictable.
Who Vacuactivus is, and what our data actually covers
Vacuactivus builds whole-body cryotherapy chambers, and the two units in our catalog are notable for spanning both sides of the category's defining fork: one fully electric chamber and one liquid-nitrogen chamber, from the same brand. Both are sold in the US through RecovAthlete, the authorized dealer where we verified every price in this review, most recently on 2026-08-14. RecovAthlete is a premium recovery-equipment retailer that also carries Cryomed cryo units, hyperbaric chambers, and PEMF systems, which is why three of the four machines in this piece share a storefront.
Worth stating plainly before the spec tables: company history, manufacturing location, warranty terms, chamber dimensions, occupancy, and electrical requirements for the Vacuactivus units are not in our verified data. We flag each gap where it matters below, because at these prices the paperwork is part of the product. Both chambers, along with everything else we have verified from the brand, live on the Vacuactivus brand hub.
One compliance note that applies to the whole category: whole-body cryotherapy is a comfort, recovery, and routine purchase. The independent evidence base for longevity outcomes is modest, so nothing here should be read as a clinical claim, and session temperatures are spec preferences, not promises about results.
At a glance
| Chamber | System | Configurations | Verified price | Session |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antarctica Barrel | Electric compressor, no nitrogen | Simple or Grand, black or white | $79,450 to $98,360, verified 2026-08-14 | 1 to 3 min |
| CryoStar | Liquid nitrogen | Simple, Grand, Grand+ | $25,500 to $29,550, verified 2026-08-14 | 1 to 3 min |
| Cryomed One Ultra | Liquid nitrogen, open-top | Base or add-on option, any RAL color | $35,199 to $39,199, verified 2026-08-14 | 3 min, about 2.5 L nitrogen |
| CryoBuilt Everest | Electric compressor, no nitrogen | Essential or Elite | Quote-only; last listed $105,000 to $135,000, verified 2026-07-22 | 2.5 to 3 min |
Configurations and sale pricing move, so confirm the number on the day you order.
Antarctica Barrel: the flagship, in full
The Antarctica Barrel is a fully electric whole-body cryotherapy chamber: a compressor-based system drives the cabin to deep cold with no liquid nitrogen anywhere in the building. Sessions run one to three minutes, controlled from a touchscreen, and the machine ships in two configurations, Simple at $79,450 and Grand at $98,360, in black or white, verified 2026-08-14 on RecovAthlete. Vacuactivus positions it for wellness centers, recovery studios, gyms, longevity clinics, and high-end home installs, and that positioning matches the machine: this is a permanent fixture, not an appliance you tuck away.
The case for it is operational. A nitrogen chamber makes you an operator of a small cryogenic-gas program: recurring tank deliveries, storage, an evaporator or dewar setup, venting, and the safety review that comes with keeping cryogenic gas in an occupied room. The Antarctica Barrel deletes that entire list. It plugs into the right electrical service and runs, which is why it is the unit we point home and family-office buyers to first in our home cryotherapy chamber guide.
Where it gives ground: three places, and they are real. First, price: at $79,450 to $98,360 it costs roughly three times the CryoStar's entry configuration, because the refrigeration hardware is doing the work nitrogen would otherwise do. Second, temperature: electric systems generally do not reach the very lowest cabin temperatures a liquid-nitrogen unit can, so if the coldest possible exposure is your single deciding spec, this is not the pick. Third, the spec sheet itself: footprint, electrical requirements, occupancy, and warranty are not in our verified data, so a serious buyer should get all four in writing from the dealer before committing. A six-figure-adjacent machine should come with paper.
CryoStar: the entry point
The CryoStar is Vacuactivus's compact liquid-nitrogen chamber and the least expensive whole-body unit we track anywhere in the category. It ships in three configurations, Simple at $25,500, Grand at $27,500, and Grand+ at $29,550, verified 2026-08-14 on RecovAthlete. The brand lists a cabin range of -184F to -280F over the standard one to three minute session, which is the classic nitrogen argument: colder than any electric system, at a fraction of the electric up-front price.
Read that temperature figure the way we do: it is brand-stated, not independently measured, and the real number in any install depends on configuration and session settings. What is not in dispute is the direction: nitrogen goes deeper than compressors, and the CryoStar's sticker is the lowest route to a closed whole-body chamber that we have verified.
Where it gives ground: the low sticker buys into a standing nitrogen program, so the true cost of ownership includes a liquid-nitrogen supply contract, storage, venting, oxygen monitoring, and the safety overhead of cryogenic gas in an occupied space. Per-session nitrogen consumption for the CryoStar is not in our verified data, which makes running-cost budgeting harder than it is for the Cryomed below, where the brand publishes a consumption figure. And as with its electric sibling, warranty, dimensions, and electrical requirements are not in our verified data, so the same get-it-in-writing rule applies.
How Vacuactivus sits against the alternatives
The honest way to judge a brand is against the two machines a serious buyer would cross-shop, one on each side of the electric-versus-nitrogen fork.
The Cryomed One Ultra is the nitrogen alternative, sold by the same dealer at $35,199 to $39,199, verified 2026-08-14. It is a different style of machine: an open-top cryosauna where your head stays above the rim, built for a studio running back-to-back three-minute sessions. Its headline number is efficiency, about 2.5 liters of liquid nitrogen per session, and its fiberglass shell can be finished in any RAL color at no charge, which matters to a business matching a fit-out. Where it gives ground: it is still a nitrogen program with all the supply and venting overhead that implies, it is priced and built for commercial throughput rather than a household, and the open-top format is a provider preference rather than an upgrade over the CryoStar's closed cabin.
The CryoBuilt Everest is the electric alternative and the benchmark for the whole category: it is the only chamber here with a published Vault score, an 8.7, and it holds our Best Ultra-Premium award for 2026. It reaches a -110F floor on multi-stage electric refrigeration, runs on a dedicated 240V circuit in roughly an 8 by 6 foot footprint, costs about $5 to $10 per session in electricity, and carries a published 3-year parts and labor warranty from a US manufacturer founded in 2015. The catch for a buyer today: CryoBuilt sells the Everest direct by quote, with the last public listing at $105,000 to $135,000, verified 2026-07-22. Where it gives ground: its -110F floor is warmer than the CryoStar's brand-stated nitrogen range, and the absence of a live price makes budgeting a conversation instead of a checkout. We keep a full head-to-head at the Everest vs Antarctica Barrel compare page, and the Cryomed vs Antarctica Barrel page covers the nitrogen-versus-electric fork at the studio tier.
Two context notes round out the field. Impact Cryotherapy, once a common US cryosauna name, ceased operations around 2022 and its line is now serviced by Cryo-XS, so treat any used unit accordingly. And if a one to three minute deep-cold session is more machine than your routine needs, cold-water immersion delivers a cold practice at a hundredth of the price; our cold plunge buyer's guide and temperature and time targets piece cover that tier, and the wider category sits inside our best recovery tech guide.
Verdicts by buyer type
- Home or family office that refuses nitrogen logistics: the Antarctica Barrel at $79,450 to $98,360 is the strongest live-priced pick. If budget is open-ended and a published warranty matters more than price certainty, get an Everest quote and read the compare page first.
- Lowest entry price, genuinely nitrogen-ready: the CryoStar from $25,500 starts the category, and nothing we track undercuts it for a closed whole-body chamber.
- Studio running sessions all day: the Cryomed One Ultra from $35,199, for the published 2.5-liter consumption figure and the color-matched shell.
- Coldest possible cabin as the single deciding spec: a nitrogen system, and within this review that means the CryoStar's brand-stated -184F to -280F, accepted with the supply program that comes with it.
- Who should not buy Vacuactivus at all: anyone without dedicated floor space and commercial-grade electrical service, anyone who would use whole-body cold a couple of times a month, for whom studio sessions are far more economical, and anyone unwilling to buy before the dealer puts warranty, dimensions, and power requirements in writing, since none of the three are in our verified data.
Bottom line
Vacuactivus earns its place by covering both sides of the only decision that matters in whole-body cryo: the Antarctica Barrel at $79,450 to $98,360 is the best live-priced electric chamber we have verified, and the CryoStar at $25,500 to $29,550 is the cheapest verified entry into the closed-chamber category, both confirmed 2026-08-14 through RecovAthlete. The brand's weakness is paperwork, not hardware: warranty, footprint, and electrical specs are not in our verified data, so make the dealer document them before money moves. Cross-shop the CryoBuilt Everest if a published 3-year warranty and a scored, benchmarked electric platform outweigh quote-only pricing, and the Cryomed One Ultra if you are outfitting a studio. Match the machine to how you will actually run it, and verify the price the day you buy.
- Ryan, Founder
How much does a Vacuactivus cryotherapy chamber cost?
Two lines, both verified 2026-08-14 via RecovAthlete, an authorized dealer. The liquid-nitrogen CryoStar runs $25,500 (Simple), $27,500 (Grand), or $29,550 (Grand+). The fully electric Antarctica Barrel runs $79,450 (Simple) or $98,360 (Grand), in black or white. Budget beyond the sticker for dedicated floor space and the correct electrical service, because both are commercial-grade machines.
Does the Vacuactivus Antarctica Barrel use liquid nitrogen?
No. The Antarctica Barrel cools by a compressor-based electric system, so there are no nitrogen tanks, deliveries, storage, or venting to manage. Sessions run one to three minutes from a touchscreen. That simplicity is the main reason it costs $79,450 to $98,360 while the nitrogen CryoStar starts at $25,500: the refrigeration hardware is doing all the work.
How cold does the Vacuactivus CryoStar get?
Vacuactivus lists a range of -184F to -280F for the CryoStar, driven by its liquid-nitrogen system, over the standard one to three minute session. Treat that as a brand-stated figure rather than an independently measured one: the actual cabin temperature depends on the configuration and session settings. Electric chambers such as the CryoBuilt Everest, with its -110F floor, run warmer.
Vacuactivus Antarctica Barrel or CryoBuilt Everest for an electric chamber?
The Antarctica Barrel has live dealer pricing at $79,450 to $98,360, verified 2026-08-14, while the Everest is quote-only, last listed at $105,000 to $135,000. The Everest counters with things Vacuactivus does not publish in our data: a -110F floor, a 3-year parts and labor warranty, an 8 by 6 foot footprint, and roughly $5 to $10 per session in electricity. Price certainty versus spec certainty is the real choice.
What warranty do Vacuactivus chambers come with?
Not in our verified data. Neither the Antarctica Barrel nor the CryoStar catalog entry carries a published warranty term, footprint, or electrical requirement, so get all three in writing from RecovAthlete before wiring a deposit. For contrast, CryoBuilt publishes 3 years parts and labor on the Everest, which is the kind of paper you should demand at any five-figure price.
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